Once-bright holiday spot grows dim

Cira and Alberto Sanchez place Christmas decorations in the front of their Eastridge neighborhood home. The area on El Paso's East Side was once a shining beacon to the city of its residents' holiday spirit. But as more newer residents move in and vandalism grows, the tradition has dwindled. (Victor Calzada / El Paso Times)

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A sign outside the home of Linda Baray in the Eastridge neighborhood bids happy holidays to passers-by. Baray moved into her home in 1997. She said she got a visit from neighbors almost immediately asking if she would maintain a tradition of decorating her home for Christmas.

The bright lights of the Eastridge neighborhood that draw in thousands of people each holiday season have lost some luster.

In recent years the area's shine has dimmed as those who began the tradition aged and newcomers did not keep up the ritual. Thefts in the area have also discouraged some, including resident Henry Soza, who helped start the tradition.

"One year the lights my father and I worked on all day to put along the sidewalk were stepped on not long after they were put up," Soza said. "Other years I had my Santa Claus broken and stolen. I constantly fixed it, but after a while I started to think that it wasn't worth it."

Now 77, Soza still decorates his home, but he notes that his street, Cartway Lane -- the block that started it all -- has grown darker each year.

"We still hope to keep the tradition going," he said. "Even if it's just a string of lights they put up, we still want the area, and others, to know that we participate."

The tradition began in 1964 when Soza and his neighbor Jean Wolf of Cartway Lane got competitive over their holiday light displays.

"I'd watch him get out of his Corvette with a new string of lights, and I'd say, well I'd better go get some more myself," Soza said. "It was like keeping up with the Joneses."

As new homes were built and residents moved in, Soza and Wolf would stop by to encourage them to decorate.

Wolf moved to Nebraska and later died. But the tradition continued and expanded to other blocks.

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At the neighborhood's peak in the late 1970s and early '80s, each home had more than 75 strings of lights on display. New owners that moved into the area would inherit the previous owners' decorations -- a little hint to keep up the tradition.

Luminarias would line the streets of the neighborhood and even the few homeowners who did not decorate would invest in them. Other traditions also took shape. Each year on Christmas Eve, neighbors would visit each other and share a glass of eggnog.

But as the 1980s came to a close, divorces, illnesses and deaths contributed to a less festive neighborhood. Homes were sold and some new owners did not keep the tradition going.

"There's been a disassociation," Anthony Correa said. "A lot of the neighbors don't know each other anymore and there seems to be less communication."

Eastridge resident Linda Baray said many new homeowners are given the hint to decorate, but some choose not to.

Baray recalled when she purchased a home in the 9700 block of Eastridge in 1997. She had just begun interior construction when she got a visit from her neighbors. Today, Baray said, most newcomers are encouraged to decorate, but not with the fervor of the old days.

"We hadn't even moved in yet, and we were asked, 'You are going to decorate, aren't you?' Now we go and encourage new residents to do the same, but it's not like they are required to do it."

The cost of electricity to keep the area shining bright may also make some residents hesitant, Correa said.

"We don't get a discount from the city or help," Correa said. "We do this for residents of the city. Everything, the cost, comes from our pockets."

Thefts have also caused a decline in holiday adornments. Baray's house is decorated with large white and blue snowflakes and a sign for the North Pole. As extravagant as the display may seem, Baray said, she has cut back.

"Already people have stolen a few of our snowflakes," she said. "Each year this happens. Someone always has a reindeer stolen."

In 1990, thieves and vandals hit Eastridge hard. Wires were destroyed, Christmas trees were torn down and displays were damaged.

As a result residents have invested in security cameras. Others have hired security to patrol the area.

"It wasn't like this in the past," Baray said. "So this can also discourage a lot of people, especially the older residents that have been here for a while. Maybe they might think, 'What's the point?'"

Mary Cram and her family participated in the tradition for years. Cram recalled decorating her husband's old radio tower and topping it off with a large blue star. The Crams decorated their front yard with a Nativity scene.

"Each year the neighborhood would light up," she said. "But none of us ever really felt obligated or pressured. We just did it."

But Cram, 89, said since her husband's death nine years ago it has been difficult to decorate her home.

"I don't feel bad at all if I don't put up the lights," Cram said. "I've been in this house for 47 years now and I've done my part already. If my son can do it then maybe I will this year."

Despite the growing number of homes that don't decorate, Correa hopes the area will eventually glow as bright as it did before.

"Maybe we need to have more meetings or just communicate with each other more," he said. "I do know that I'd like to see the luminarias lining the streets of the entire neighborhood once again."